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Emily Hung

Hong Kong housewife Angel Fung has cared for more than a dozen foster children over many years but, with Mother’s Day on Sunday, she remembered a little girl named Kitty*.
Fung’s daughter Jojo was taking the three-year-old out for a meal when the anxious toddler asked: “Did Auntie Fung disown me?”
The family still tear up when they recall that day, 12 years ago.
“Why would a three-year-old be afraid of being dumped?” asked Jojo Fung, now 40.
Kitty’s mother had health problems and her father was in jail, so she spent the first few years of her life being passed around among relatives until she was sent to the Fungs.
Offer Hong Kong families larger cash incentives to foster children, experts say
Angel Fung, now 74, recalled that the girl arrived with a voice hoarse from crying and refused to speak to anyone.
It took years of love and care to rebuild her sense of security and self-esteem before she was adopted by an American when she was eight years old and moved to the United States.
“It was not easy to let her go, we were very concerned whether she could adapt to the new life, with the language barrier and difference in lifestyle,” said Angel Fung. “But she’s doing very well now and we are more than happy for her.”
Jojo Fung said: “We always told Kitty she could come home whenever she wanted, we would always be here for her.”

The family has stayed in contact with the girl, who is now 15.
Angel Fung and her husband have helped foster youngsters since 2005, seeking companionship as their three children had grown up and left home.
Over more than a decade, they took in more than a dozen children, from newborn babies to teenagers.
In 2019, the duo decided to take a break from being foster parents. Last year, their daughter Jojo, a homemaker, and her husband began helping children in need.
The couple, who have no children of their own, are now fostering an 11-year-old girl.
There are 799 foster families caring for 877 children whose parents cannot keep them due to issues such as drug addiction, mental illness and imprisonment, among others.
The children leave their foster families when they are adopted, able to live independently or reunite with their families.
Hong Kong foster care shake-up calls for total support
As of April, 274 children were in the queue waiting for foster homes.
According to the Social Welfare Department, the number of foster families quitting the service went up over the past five years, but new volunteers have been slow to arrive.
Carrie Chan, a foster care worker at the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, which coordinates close to a third of the city’s foster families, said: “More than 60 per cent of foster parents are aged 56 or above, and many in their 60s or 70s have quit in recent years for health reasons. We always hope more younger families will join us.”
A survey by the Hong Kong Christian Service last November found that close to a fifth of foster families were planning to quit within three years.
To attract more foster families, a committee set up to review children’s residential services has urged the government to increase cash incentives and strengthen childcare support.

Foster parents now receive HK$4,898 (US$624) as a monthly incentive allowance and HK$1,632 more if they look after children under three years old and those with special needs.
There is also a monthly grant of HK$6,530 to cover the children’s expenses.
Jojo Fung agreed that a higher cash incentive might attract more families to take in children, but she felt those caring for children with special education needs (SEN) deserved stronger support.
“Most families are concerned about being capable of looking after a child round-the-clock, which can be very stressful,” she said.
Fung recalled the challenges her mother faced when she fostered a child with attention deficit hyperactive disorder. The child could hardly stay still during the hour-long bus ride to their support sessions.
She said it would spare the foster parents commuting time and stress if transport could be arranged to send SEN children to their regular sessions.
Wheelchair-friendly places and foster homes: a Hong Kong father’s love story
Natalie Chan, a foster care worker at Hong Kong Christian Service, which coordinates almost a fifth of foster homes, said the current system neglected such parents’ need to rest.
“It is unfair that the cash allowance is deducted if they take a leave and send the child to respite care,” she said. “This is a semi-voluntary commitment, but the allowance is extremely low, and foster parents often need to care for the kids 24/7, let alone the fact that many are elderly people.”
More daycare support in the community would also give the care families more flexibility, she added.
One foster mum with no regrets is semi-retired piano teacher Kwong Fung-ming, 73, who has three sons and seven grandchildren of her own.
Fostering two teenage boys, she hoped there could be more subsidies for the children’s development needs.
Disowned at birth, Donald*, 13, was sent to her when he was five. She said he has a wide variety of interests in music and sports, and also needs extra tutorial classes, but the current grant did not cover all his course fees.

Ty*, 15, arrived in 2021, because his previous foster family was emigrating. His mother has a severe mental disorder.
Kwong was not concerned about raising the allowance for foster families, saying the bond she developed with the boys could not be measured in terms of money.
“Their companionship is the greatest gift,” she said. “The home would be very quiet without them.”
She said it would be hard to say how much of an allowance would be enough to encourage more families to take in children.
“What matters most is their passion,” she said. “If people are drawn to provide the service just for the allowance, that will not be good for the children.”
*Names changed


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Hong Kong society

‘Did Auntie Fung disown me?’: Hong Kong foster family recalls the day a toddler feared she was being dumped

Foster family members Jojo Fung (left) and her mother Angel Fung are helping give children a sense of stability. Photo: Edmond So

Jojo and her husband Frankie (back left) take their foster children on a day out. Photo: Handout

A birthday card given to Angel Fung by some of the children she fostered. Photo: Edmond So

Foster mother Kwong Fung-ming has said she has no regrets since taking part in the service, but hopes allowances could be raised to help children develop. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Offer Hong Kong families larger cash incentives to foster children, says expert panel created to combat abuse of youngsters at care centres

An expert panel has called for Hong Kong to promote child foster care as an alternative to residential centres. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children Headquarters in Mong Kok. Photo: Edmond So

Lost Love movie review: Sammi Cheng, Hong Kong Film Awards best actress nominee, impresses as a grieving mother in affecting foster care drama

Sammi Cheng (left) in a still from Lost Love.

Hong Kong Film Awards best actress nominee Sammi Cheng plays grieving mother Mei in a still from Lost Love (category IIA, Cantonese), directed by Ka Sing-fung. Alan Luk co-stars

Alan Luk as Bun (right) in a still from Lost Love.

Sammi Cheng (left) as Mei in a still from Lost Love.

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Hong Kong

Society

Children wait for homes, as there aren’t enough new foster families to replace those who have quit
NGO, foster parents say authorities should increase cash incentives, fund activities for children and boost support to families caring for youngsters with special needs


Children wait for homes, as there aren’t enough new foster families to replace those who have quit.


Hong Kong youth